WHERE: Lloyd Noble Center | Norman, OK

WHEN: 8:00 PM, Wednesday | Feb. 9th

WATCH IT ON: ESPN U

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 28-38 all-time against Oklahoma on the hardwood. The Red Raiders have won two straight and six of their last seven games against the Sooners.

Oklahoma has a 13-10 record this season, and they’re 3-7 in Big 12 Conference play. The Sooners are unranked, but they have three wins over teams in the AP Top 25 (Florida, Arkansas, Iowa State). OU was picked to finish seventh in the 2021 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, and they’re currently tied for eighth in the Big 12 Conference standings.

Sooners head coach Porter Moser is on year one at the helm for Oklahoma and has a career record of 306-252 as a head coach. He spent 10 years at Loyola-Chicago and led the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018. Moser was 26-5 last season and helped lead Loyola-Chicago to their second Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last four years.

Oklahoma went 16-11 a season ago, and they were 9-8 in Big 12 play. They would make the 2021 NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and would beat the No. 9 seed Missouri Tigers, 72-68, in the first round. OU would lose their second game in the Round of 32 to No. 1 seed Gonzaga, 87-71.

The Sooners have the 48th ranked in scoring defense in the country, and they’re 156th in field goal percentage defense. They’re 78th in turnovers forced and 79th in steals per game. Oklahoma has the 222nd scoring offense despite being ranked 25th in field goal percentage.

OU is 48th out of 358 schools in the KenPom college basketball ratings for adjusted efficiency margin. They’re 74th in offensive efficiency and 37th in defensive efficiency. The Sooners have three wins over teams in the KenPom top 50 (Florida, Arkansas, Iowa State).

Groves transferred to Oklahoma after spending the last three years at Eastern Washington. He averaged 17.2 points and 8 rebounds for the Eagles a season ago and was named the Big Sky Conference MVP. Groves leads the Sooners in scoring with 13.1 points, and he’s second in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game. He shoots an impressive 55.1 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from behind the arc.

Gibson is on year two at Oklahoma after spending his first three seasons at North Texas. He is the second leading scorer for Oklahoma with 12 points per game, and he’s third in the Big 12 Conference with 54 made threes. Gibson leads the Sooners with 2.3 three-pointers per game, and he’s shooting 36 percent from behind the arc. He’s averaging 1.5 steals per game on the defensive end this season.

Goldwire transferred to Oklahoma after spending the last four years at Duke. He’s scoring a career high 9.5 points, and he’s the third leading scorer for the Sooners. Goldwire leads the team in assists with 3.6 dimes per game. He averaged an impressive 2.3 steals per game for the Blue Devils last season, and he leads the Oklahoma defense with 1.6 steals per game this year.

There are no easy games in the Big 12 and despite their conference record, the Sooners are a solid team and Wednesday night will be another tough road contest for Texas Tech.

The Oklahoma offense is second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage, but that efficiency hasn’t translated to a lot of points on the offensive end. Much like Texas, a lot of that comes back to pace. The Sooners play a slower pace on the offensive end, and that has kept their scoring totals down this season.

Oklahoma is ranked 259th out of 358 schools in offensive possessions per game. Their style of play will result in fewer offensive possessions for the Red Raiders in this matchup, so getting good looks at the basket and not turning the ball over will be a key factor.

One of the many things the Texas Tech defense has done well this season is force turnovers, and the Sooners just so happen to have a bit of a turnover problem. Oklahoma is ranked 318th in the NCAA with 14.8 turnovers per game. Creating extra offensive possessions by forcing turnovers will go a long towards the Red Raiders exiting the Lloyd Noble Center with a win.

The Texas Tech defense will also have to account for Tanner Groves. He is a unique player and when he catches fire on offensive end, Groves can be a tough to contain. He moves well for a 6-foot-10 forward and can stretch the defense with his three-point shooting ability.

Daniel Batcho feels like the obvious candidate to match up with Groves defensively. Batcho moves as well if not better and is slightly taller than Groves. His defense was crucial in the second half against West Virginia, and with the Sooners main scoring threat coming from the post, Batcho could be called upon to fill a big role in this matchup.

The Sooners may be in the bottom half of scoring defenses (7th) in the Big 12 Conference this season, but that’s still good enough to be a top 50 scoring defense (48th) in the nation. Oklahoma is allowing only 54.2 points per game in their 13 wins, so their recipe for success starts on the defensive end.

The Red Raider offense has struggled at times on the road in conference play, and they’ll look to buck that trend in Norman. Texas Tech is shooting 42.6 percent from the field, and they’re averaging only 62.8 points in their five Big 12 road games. One good thing about the Red Raider offense is that they don’t rely on one person for their scoring production.

Bryson Williams is the epitome of consistency on the offensive end, but any player for Texas Tech is capable of having a big game on any given night. Adonis Arms will be a game time decision but regardless of who’s available on Wednesday, the Red Raiders will need to have that next man up approach and be ready from the tip.